Top 10 Anime Where The Villain Wins

VO: Ashley Bowman
Written by Alex Crilly-Mckean,
Huh, guess it does pay to be evil. Welcome to WatchMojo.com and today we are counting down our picks for the top ten anime where the villain wins.
For this list, we’ll be looking at anime that features an antagonist who at one point or another manages to claim a total victory and achieve their insidious goal. Get ready for heartbreak, mature content and spoilers ahead, because this is not going to be pretty!

Top 10 Anime Where The Villain Wins

Huh, guess it does pay to be evil. Welcome to WatchMojo.com and today we are counting down our picks for the top ten anime where the villain wins.

For this list, we’ll be looking at anime that features an antagonist who at one point or another manages to claim a total victory and achieve their insidious goal. Get ready for heartbreak, mature content and spoilers ahead, because this is not going to be pretty!

The original Persona 4 animated series had a few pitfalls but for the most part it was an enjoyable watch. Persona 4 Golden on the other hand…er…not so much, mainly due to the whole thing being a rushed rehash with the addition of the unnecessary Marie. Then there’s this OVA, where Yu…helps the culprit get way with his crimes? In what boils down to the “bad ending”, this alternative take on the series sees Adachi escape his crimes scot-free while the mysterious fog continues to consume the town. Um…why?

#9: “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood” (2012)

It’s sad to think about it, but if you really look at how things ended for Jonathan Joestar, you’ll see that the victor was none other than Dio! Just as he was about to go on his honeymoon with his beloved Erina, Dio’s disembodied yet still living head manages to kill JoJo. His final moments may be that of a true gentleman, and he does manage to save Erina from suffering the same fate, but that doesn’t change the fact the series ended with JoJo dying and Dio going on to take his body for himself. Talk about ‘muda’.

#8: “Oreimo” (2010-13)

Where’s the villain you ask? It’s Kirino of course; that closet otaku who’s abusive to everyone she meets while secretly pining for her brother’s man-meat. You can debate all you want how she learns humility by the end of the series, but she still succeeds in her goal of ensuring that her brother Kyousuke abandons any chances to be with other girls and instead falls for her. They even tie the knot! Yeah, Kyousuke is an idiot for wanting to take his sister to the boneyard, but she’s still the devious mastermind who started it all. We miss Kuroneko.

#7: “Yu Yu Hakasho” (1992-94)

In case you hadn’t heard, Yusuke Urameshi is something of a badass. A juvenile delinquent turned spirit detective who happens to have a demon lineage, it’s no wonder he was able to overcome absolute monsters like Toguro and Sensui. Then came the final arc, and unlike the Dark Tournament, this is one bout that Yusuke actually ended up losing. Don’t get us wrong, Yomi was a powerful foe and ends up changing his mind about eating humans at the last minute, but this is Yusuke we’re talking about! This is the kind of crap we expect to see happen to Kuwabara.

#6: “Dragon Ball Super” (2015-)

Ah, alternative timelines. The ultimate excuse for messing with characters and lore without any fear of consequences. As it happens, this one is home to a much more malicious version of Goku, one who thrives on the slaughter of innocents. Sure, Zeno manages to use his divine power to essentially retcon the entire timeline, but before he met his demise, Zamasu still succeededs in his Zero Mortals Plan. A mission that saw him massacre basically all of mankind. Wow, now that’s some Frieza level villainy right there.

#5: “Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor” (2007)

You just had to give into greed, didn’t you Kaiji? You nearly met your end a dozen times and even got your ear cut off, but it still wasn’t enough. After managing to defeat Tonegawa in the deadliest card game of all time, Kaiji gives up his one chance to walk away rich in order to try and defeat the perverse Chairman for an even greater fortune. Unfortunately, he had no idea that he was facing off against an expert cheater who saw through his game-plan. As a result, Kaiji ends up getting his fingers chopped off – guillotine style!

#4: “Fate/Zero” (2012)

So many sacrifices, so many dead dreams, all for nothing. As the Fourth Holy Grail War comes to a close, the only ones who manage to walk away unpunished are the heartless Kotomine and egotistical Gilgamesh. Doesn’t help that the chaos of Fuyuki city was exactly what they wanted. Given how Kiritsugu lost literally everything, Saber was denied her wish and Kairya…well…Kariya just got fucked over, seeing the dastardly duo get off scot-free was beyond disheartening.

#3: “Devilman Crybaby” (2017)

Though he was initially fighting alongside Akira against the demon forces, when Ryo’s true self was revealed to him amidst the chaos, he quickly fell back into old habits... Fucking up humanity and whatnot. In the concluding episode, as Satan, he commanded the demonic legions against the last of humanity and Akira’s Devilman army. Not today sata-Oh wait he won. This one is a little more complicated than the rest though. Since despite ultimately winning the battle against his best friend, he soon came to see the error of his ways. Oh and then nuked by god.

#2: “Berserk” (1997)

You haven’t seen betrayal until you witness the douchebaggery that is Griffith. After being crippled beyond recognition, the former leader of the Band of the Hawk is offered a deal by the demonic entities known as the God Hand. With the promise of having his dream fulfilled, all Griffith needs to do in return is sacrifice his comrades. Spoilers, he does. If that wasn’t horrific enough, after assuming his new guise of Femto, he goes on to spite his once closest ally Guts by violating his love interest Casca before his eyes. Not hard to see why Guts might have a bone to pick with him after all that.

#1: “Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans” (2015-17)

After watching these child soldiers suffer such hardships and fight against all manner of hostilities, we were desperate to see Tekkadan make it through this last stand. And yet by the end of it all, Gjallarhorn was the one that claimed victory, and that scumbag Rustal Elion became their new leader. The only silver linings being that some of Tekkadan’s members managed to escape and eventually Kudelia did succeed in giving Mars the independence and freedom it deserved. However, that doesn’t take away the pain of watching both Mikazuki and Orga die! Especially when Mikazuki was defeated by, Julieta, the worst anime character in history.